Holding On
by Ellie MadElyn
Summary: A simple case is turned into a personal one as the members of 5-0 look for the antidote to a virus which is slowly and painfully consuming one of their own. Will they be able to find it? More importantly, will they be able to find it before time runs out for the one they care about? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE**: HOLDING ON

**BY**: Ellie!

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**NOTE**:

**Hey...This is my FIRST fanfic ever. It does not really have a well-developed plot, its just whump. Lots and lots of it. For me that's kind of enough. That's how I chose the fanfics I want to read. I fulfill my daily dosage of whump. :P**

**Anyways...I really hope you like it. **

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_**Summary**_: A simple case is turned into a personal one as the members of 5-0 look for the antidote to a virus which is slowly and painfully consuming one of their own. Will they be able to find it? More importantly, will they be able to find it before time runs out for the one they care about?

_(Major character whump! No Cath! Sorry.)_

REVIEWS…I need them. Desperately. No flames please!

Ok...here it goes!

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**CHAPTER:1**

**23rd MARCH 2014. SUNDAY**.

...10:00:00 p.m...

Max Dereck felt a sharp pain in his head as a man extremely large with a tattoo of a scorpion on his abnormally muscular shoulder grabbed him by the collar and shoved him to the wall. He felt the presence of another person in his house, someone who was standing in the dark and enjoying the feeling of domination. Max Dereck saw that person come closer to him; he could make out a few features now but was still not certain. As he saw the imposing figure, realization struck him, "You! Why?" he yelled. Before he could even recover from the shock he felt a stingy pain in his arm and succumbed to the world of darkness.

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**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY **

...03:00:00 a.m...

It was late at night. The roads were silent. There was no one on the streets except three well-built men completely in black attire with masks covering their faces. The trio stood behind a house which was a little isolated from the others, devising their plan. The largest of the three men began picking the lock of the house's door trying to make the least of all noises. Little did they know, the man within the house turned out to be a smarter guy. Before they could even realize the door opened and they were welcomed by a considerably short man with his gun pointing right at them. Taking advantage of the fact that they were three in number, they barged in. One of them grabbed their victim by the collar pushing him to the wall. The struggle continued for a while longer, the shorter man giving the large men a very hard time. As all the three men worked together they were able to finally pin the victim to the ground but only after one of them sat on top of him grasping his neck tightly and the other held back his hands. They could see him struggling to get to the gun that was hiding beneath the sofa causing one of the men to slide it further away from their victim. Now that the situation was under control, the man- with the scorpion tattoo- disappeared to the outside of the house only re-entering a second later carrying a briefcase. After having done the work they were sent for, they waited as they saw their victim trying really hard to stay awake. They worriedly looked at each other as the man lying motionless refused to lose consciousness unlike their first victim. It was only a few seconds later that they relaxed laughing wickedly when finally the man lost his battle.

"Only a few more hours, then you'll be as good as dead." One of the men said before broadly smiling at their victory.

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**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

...10:00:00 a.m...

At Danny's residence:

_Buzz….Buzzz….Buzzz_

Danny could feel the phone vibrate beneath his pillow. It did occur to him that it might be an important call but he just did not feel like to answer it. He did not feel like to move. At all. He felt like he needed to sleep for at least a year more. But, again, he decided to ignore his beauty sleep and answered the call without looking at the caller ID.

"It's Dny…who is this? You bet'er not be Stve!" He said irritated running his other hand through his messed up hair, his eyes still closed.

"_Danny?"_

A very familiar voice asked from the other side of the phone. 'He' sounded relieved and surprised at the same time.

"_You're still sleeping?"_ He heard the other man give a short laugh before continuing, "_Wake up you sleepy ass!" _

"Steve….you animal. Why would you call me so early in the morning huh? Do you not like it when I am at peace?" Danny winced realizing just how loud he had screamed.

"_Danny…You were supposed to pick me up for work. Remember?"_

Realization struck him, he looked at his phone to verify what Steve was saying, making sure it was not a way of the NavySEAL to just get on his nerves. Oh Damn. Steve's right. I am late.

"Alright….It's going to take me some time Babe. How about you go on your own huh? Take your own wheels if not take a cab." Danny said getting up from his bed lazily and pulling up his pants.

"_I am already here. Don't worry about me, just hurry up."_

Danny then ended the call.

Once he was dressed, he hurriedly rushed out of his room looking frantically for his gun holster and badge. He found them on the table except that his gun was missing,

"Oh Great. What a day to lose my gun. Where the hell are you?" Danny screamed at the top of his voice. He searched for it inside his room, in the kitchen and every other possible place before finally giving it up.

"Why should everything go wrong on the same day?" He said slamming the apartment door shut behind him and rushing to his car. He was late. Not good.

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MEANWHILE- 

At the office:

Chin was the first one to arrive at the office. He was a punctual man. Kono was the next one and then Steve who entered murmuring to himself angrily. Obviously he was in a bad mood. Danny had forgotten to pick him up.

"Where the hell is he?" He asked looking around.

Chin and Kono understood 'he' stood for Danny just by the looks of it.

"He is not here yet." Chin answered saving his cousin the trouble.

"He is not here?" Steve asked rather disappointed. He had thought of literally killing Danny with his rant today. But damn he lost this opportunity.

He suddenly felt uneasy. It was not usual for Danny to be late not without notice at least.

"I am going to call him." He announced before dialing Danny's number.

There was no answer for a solid one minute; Steve tensed followed by others who just stared at him. Fortunately, a little while later he was welcomed by a voice, Danny's voice.

"_It's Dny…who is this? You bet'er not be Stve!" _

Danny sounded irritated. "Danny?" he asked to make sure his partner was alright. He could bet Danny sounded sleepy. He knew his partner enough to understand that. "You're still sleeping?" He asked shaking his head with disbelief and laughing. "Wake up you sleepy ass!" The others who had unknowingly held their breath for the whole time relaxed a little continuing with their work.

"_Steve….you animal. Why would you call me so early in the morning huh? Do you not like it when I am at peace?"_

Danny screamed from the other side making Steve wince a little holding the phone away from his ear before slowly bringing it closer.

"Danny…You were supposed to pick me up for work. Remember?" Steve asked as calm as possible his hands flying in front of him.

Steve could hear shuffling from the other side. Danny's probably putting on his pants, his mind provided. He heard Danny's voice after a long while of waiting.

"_Alright….Its going to take me some time Babe. How about you go on your own huh? Take your own wheels if not take a cab." _

I am not a child Danno. Obviously I know. He thought to himself and smiled. That was one great thing about Danny, he just cared too much.

"I am already here. Don't worry about me, just hurry up." Steve said before ending the call and continuing his work. Danny and late…never saw that coming.

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**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY. **

...10:30:00 a.m...

Max Dereck woke up with a sharp pain at the back of his head. He touched his head and felt blood trickling through his fingers. When he slowly opened his eyes, he remembered everything that had happened. His heart rate rose to extreme levels which was not normal even under the circumstances when he realized he was in a very tight place held as a captive. He understood he was lying on his side…he knew he was kidnapped and he knew it had happened yesterday…maybe, it definitely had been a long time ago, but what he could not understand was why every part of his body ached. He winced as he tried to move his hand. This is not normal, he thought to himself before trying to scan the surroundings regretting it the very next second.

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**That was exciting!**

**OK...This wasn't that bad. Right? Tolerable? Tell me what you think. I need to know. Even if I get 5 reviews, its more than enough for me to continue writing. I have the next chapter almost complete so it'll be up maybe tomorrow. Whump is sure to come...I just wanted to give it a start. I personally hate cliffies. Thanks anyways for giving it a read. REVIEW!**

**- Ellie!**


	2. Chapter 2

**TITLE**: HOLDING ON

BY: Ellie!

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**Thank you so much guys for the wonderful reviews. You encourage me to keep writing. So here's the next chapter, really hope you like this one. Took me a while to complete it. **

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**CHAPTER:2**

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

...10:30:00 a.m...

At the office:

Steve was in his office, his head aching because of all the paper work he had done in the past half hour. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. How much he hated sitting at the desk doing practically nothing. His thoughts were interrupted by Chin who knocked on the door and walked in, saving Steve from the boredom.

"Please tell me we have a case Chin." Steve looked up at Chin almost begging.

"We do…a pretty complicated one." Chin answered.

"Complicated will do just fine." Steve said cheerfully scribbling his signature in the file in front of him and getting up from his chair. Paperwork was just not his thing.

Steve and Chin walked together to the hallway when they saw Danny entering with his hair still in a mess, half-asleep and lost. Danny had not even noticed them staring at him.

"You're a mess Brah!" Chin said gaining Danny's attention.

"Yeah….no I just woke up too late." Danny said frowning. He could not believe it. He had over-slept.

"It happens man! Its usual with me." Steve said looking in his partner's eyes trying to lighten up the mood. Danny looked a little too serious about this tiny matter. And besides, everybody knew how much more annoying a stern Danny was than the usual one. Steve would never admit it but he enjoyed Danny's company mainly because he gets to argue with him.

Danny stared at his partner's eyes for some time getting the assurance he most needed at the moment. God, why do I have to panic so much for this? So not normal. Ignoring his thoughts Danny whispered almost to himself, "I guess you're right."

There was silence for a little while before Chin pointed towards Kono who was now getting restless waiting for her team mates, "Uhh…we have a case guys." He reminded finally putting an end to Steve and Danny's eye to eye conversations.

"Oh..I thought you were going to start without me." Danny said following Chin who hurriedly walked to his cousin.

"Did not even think about it ." Steve smiled putting his arm around Danny's shoulder. He really had not thought of starting without his partner. First reason, he needed Danny to be there with him, it was a lot more fun that way. Second, Steve would never admit it out-front but there was no doubt in it that Danny was a LOT more sensible, an 'always-follow-protocol' kind of guy which Steve was not.

Truthfully, Steve had never thought of doing what he did in any other way. He had never thought of his life without his Ohana. Steve knew pretty well how dangerous and risky their jobs were, he knew how a moment with his friends could end up being the last one. But he knew as long as he was alive, no one could ever harm the ones he care about. No…actually he would not allow that even if he was dead. Steve had made up his mind, if anybody hurt his family and kills him in the process, he would definitely haunt their asses which will undoubtedly be a lot more fun.

Steve's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Kono's face which did not look very happy. She had been waiting for her team mates for the past 15 minutes.

"Finally you are here. What took you so long?" She asked, looking up from her work moving towards the screen.

"What do we know about the case Kono?" Chin asked in his usual 'all- work- and- no- games' tone.

"Ok…here it goes." Kono replied swiping her fingers on the smart table to reveal a picture on the main screen. "The guy you see is Antonio Pedrez, age: 45, divorcee, no kids. A complaint was filed by his ex-wife who claims that he is missing. I just got off the phone with her she is very certain that something has happened to her ex-husband. I have tried to locate him using GPS but looks like his phone is turned off. He is also a very well-known scientist and the owner of The Science Research Centre here in Hawaii. He works alongside Daniel Russo..." Kono paused before swiping her fingers yet again to reveal another picture, this time of an older guy.

"Russo is 50 years old, with a lot of experience in business and too many admirers. Now I know it looks like a simple case, but it really isn't. A day before Antonio Pedrez went missing, he left his job. Now when I talked to some of his co-workers and his ex-wife they think that he might have actually been fired. Nobody knows why. And the strangest thing guys, is that there is one more man missing from the Research Centre. Max Dereck- an ex-lawyer who was financing their researches. It was only a few minutes before you guys came in that HPD called me about his disappearance. It seems he has not showed up to work today and Daniel Russo is pretty worried about him."

"Ok… so our bad guy could be Daniel Russo. He has many motives. He gets to have the research centre all to himself for starters." Steve suggested calculating the possibilities and receiving nods from his friends.

"Hmm…maybe. It could also be the ex-wife, you know." Danny spoke much to everyone else's surprise. Here we go again, Steve thought to himself folding his arms on his chest and sarcastically smiling.

"Danny, the ex-wife filed the complaint." Kono reminded still stunned by Danny's comment.

"So what? That actually makes it a bigger possibility. Besides, FYI ex-wives can be very smart. Maybe she wants us to believe that Russo- that poor old guy, has something to do with it and.."

"Or maybe Danny she just cares about her ex-husband." Steve interrupted Danny's reasoning.

"Okay…don't tell me I did not warn you." Danny said his hands flying in front of him surprising Steve yet again.

That's it? Steve thought to himself. Weird. Danny had not even mentioned Rachel and Grace and how he ended up in the pineapple infested hell-hole as a partner to McNever-follows-procedure. He had barely started arguing.

Chin and Kono who just stood there with smiles plastered on their faces cleared their throats together to gain the attention of the duo, so that some real work like working on a case and not fighting over something like ex-wives could be done.

"Yes..the case. Kono, I need you to find everything you can on this Max Dereck guy, traffic cams, bank accounts anything that can give us an idea as to what the hell is going on. Chin, you dig into Antonio Pedrez's past researches, grudges anything. There are two possible victims in this case."

"One of them might even be the culprit for all we know." Danny suggested.

"Exactly why we cannot miss anything. Me and Danny, we'll go see what Daniel Russo has to say about this."

"I have sent the address on your phones." Chin said before disappearing into his office followed by Kono. They had work to do, a lot of it.

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**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY. **

...11:00:00 a.m...

Max Dereck was now struggling to breathe. He had thought of scanning the place but the slightest movement of his muscles sent him to a ride of unbearable pain as he shuddered from the cold. He knew if he could just turn around, he would know exactly where he was. He clutched his chest as he felt his heart rate increase by a notch. "You are not the kind to get scared so easily, you have dealt with many dangerous criminals as a lawyer, what the hell is wrong with you now?" He said trying to calm himself down as he felt another shiver run through his body.

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**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

...11:00:00 a.m...

At the Science Research Centre:

"Alright, that's it". Steve spoke to himself getting up from his chair and moving towards Daniel Russo's office. It had almost been half an hour since Steve and Danny were made to sit outside waiting for the supposed 'confidential meeting' to end.

Danny rolled his eyes seeing Steve fail yet again. Two very muscular bodyguards stood guarding the office's door, sure Steve could take them down in a second but he was trying really hard to hold it in.

Danny folded his arms on his chest while Steve came and sat beside him.

"This is so frustrating. How can you not feel anything Danny?" He asked taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Obviously it's not your taste, it does not involve guns, bad guys, not to mention grenades to blow people up." Danny said resting his head on the wall and closing his eyes.

"Sorry for always underestimating your sense of humor." Steve said with sarcasm.

Now that his partner was trying to get a tiny-tiny nap in the very uncomfortable chair, Steve was left with nothing to do but look around. After detailed observation, he realized one important thing -Daniel Russo was a very lucky man. Not only was the exterior of the research centre so eye-catching, even the secretary offices were crammed with electronic gadgets and scientific equipments which Steve could obviously not understand. This is more like Chin and Kono's field of interest, he thought before his eyes wandered off to a pretty red-headed lady staring at him before waving her hand. Flirt. Steve thought shaking his head with skepticism. Before he could respond, the door to Daniel Russo's office opened,

"Mr. Russo will see you now. I am sure you can find your way in." The secretary said before disappearing into the room nearby.

Steve stood and started to walk towards the office when he realized that his partner was not beside him. He turned around to find Danny still sleeping his chest rising higher than it usually did. Something's wrong. Steve thought. A frown appeared on Danny's forehead. That was the sign. Before Steve could realize he was already running to his partner calling out his name. "Danny?" he shook his partner's shoulder. There was no reaction. Steve's heart was telling him to call an ambulance but his mind was being more reasonable. He shook his friend once more and to his relief there finally was a response in what felt like a year. Danny did wake up but it took him some time to remember and when his head was much clearer, he questioningly looked at Steve who was bent downwards invading his personal space.

"Huh? What happened? You look like you saw a ghost" Danny said still in confusion.

"You looked pretty much like one." Steve stood up taking deep breathes and relaxing his mind before continuing, "Ok…so you want to explain what the hell just happened? You gave me a heart attack there. I thought I'd need to call an ambulance."

"I think I slept? I was thinking about the case a second before. Don't know when I fell asleep." Danny was panicking again and Steve could see it right through him.

Danny brought his hand close to his chest in order to calm himself down and Steve just gave him the time he needed.

"It's nothing, I guess." Danny said standing up from his chair almost losing balance. Steve had missed that. Thank God.

"I think you're tired man. You just need to rest." Steve said to relax himself and his partner, well mostly himself.

"Yeah…"

"You're still here Sir?" The secretary appeared from nowhere gaining the attention of the duo yet again.

"I guess you can follow me then." She said before entering into Russo's office.

Steve looked at Danny worriedly while his partner just rolled his eyes. "I am fine Steve. We were on a case so c'mon let's go." Danny tried to sound annoyed. Yeah. Epic fail. Steve thought to himself. Something was not right. Maybe the work was finally taking a toll on his partner. After all, cops are humans. Steve just hoped it was the work and nothing else. He prayed to God, just don't be anything else.

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**Phew! Finally over. I need to know what you think about this chapter. Was it worth your precious time? Let me know!**

**Thanks for reading and bearing with my writing style. English is not my first language which I think explains the innumerable grammatical errors and poor vocabulary. I am trying, really. I promise whump is on its way. Next chapter will be up maybe after 4-5 days. Life's starting to get busy again. Thanks anyways, you guys rock. **

**-Ellie!**


	3. Chapter 3

**TITLE: **Holding on

**BY:** Ellie!

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**Thank you guys for reviewing, following and reading my story. That's a lot of encouragement for a starter like me. Here's the next chapter, as promised. Don't forget to review. O.k here we go...**

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**CHAPTER:3**

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY. **

...11:30:00 a.m...

The walk to where Russo was in his abnormally large office, more like an apartment, was a rather long one. Well, atleast Danny and Steve thought so. They were both terrified and too deep in their thoughts.

"Hello gentlemen, I am so sorry to keep you waiting for so long."

Steve was the first one to react, "Mr. Russo …It's fine. We just need you to answer some of our questions."

"Its related to my missing employees, I presume." He said taking a seat and indicating Steve and Danny to do the same.

"Yes...What can you tell us about them?" Danny asked now very serious; all forgotten about what had happened outside the office, well for the time being. Like Steve was going to let it go.

"Officers, Antonio was…is a very passionate man. He was diligent, well until recently."

"What do you mean?" Steve spoke his partner's mind.

" He was starting to act weird, picking fights with everybody, too angry all the time. If you ask me he was acting like a completely different person."

Oh. Picking fights with people. Wonderful.

"Is that why you fired him?"

Russo was taken aback by what Steve asked. "Looks like you've been talking to his wife. That woman hates me and I don't even know why. We did argue, a lot. But I never even thought of firing him. He was the one who left the job."

"So…what did you argue about?" Danny asked processing Russo's words in his mind and forming a possible theory.

"Well…like I said he was passionate. You know officers, this place is not only a research centre, its more like business. And I was trying my best to get more profits but.."

"Antonio didn't care about that. Did he?" Steve completed his sentence. The classic storyline. 5-0 had dealt with the same kind many times.

"Alright, what about Max Dereck? Why would anyone try to harm him?" Danny asked.

"That is what surprises me the most. Max was a great kid, devoted, hardworking. He was the one who financed all our researches. He used all the money he had for good. Why would anyone want to harm him?"

Russo's words sounded genuine. There were two possibilities either he really meant everything he said or 5-0 was dealing with an incredibly intelligent actor which definitely did not make it any easier. Steve and Danny looked at each other. They had everything they needed to know for now.

"Thank you, Mr. Russo. We'll keep in touch." Steve said before getting up from his chair and extending his hand forward.

"I am glad I could help." Russo shook Steve's hand firmly before looking at his secretary, "Amy, Why don't you escort these officers out and give this to Lucy." He handed a file to her.

The secretary nodded her head and indicated Steve and Danny to follow her, "Please. This way."

Once they were out of Russo's office, Steve hurriedly took the one opportunity they were getting to talk to the secretary. "Ms. Amy, how were the relations between your boss and Mr. Pedrez?

Amy did not reply for a moment. Signs of nervousness, they had both noticed it.

"Okay…they were not the best of partners, you know. Mr. Antonio was acting really strange recently but I thought…" she paused nervously looking around her.

Danny placed his hand on her shoulder, "There's nothing you need to be afraid of." The woman looked in his eyes and nodded. "But I am not sure."

"Tell us whatever you know." Steve assured. The confidence suddenly seemed to rise in the woman; she took a deep breath and continued, "I think Mr. Antonio was involved in some off-the record researches. You know like the illegal ones. I think even Mr. Russo knows about this."

"That explains a lot of things." Danny looked at Steve who just nodded.

"You did great." Danny patted Amy on her shoulder who just innocently smiled before disappearing into the red-headed lady's office.

Steve and Danny began walking towards the Research Centre's exit taking in their surroundings. Definitely a lucky guy, Steve thought again. Their walk to the Camaro was awfully quiet which was really bothersome to Steve. Every now and then he peeked at Danny trying to read his reluctant partner's face. Danny was physically with Steve but he had his mind stuck somewhere else and Steve could see that. He just wanted to know what was going on in his partner's head.

Once they reached the Camaro, Steve called out his partner's name to pull him away from his thoughts.

"Danny, you want to drive?" He asked holding the keys in his hand and throwing them to his partner.

Danny caught the flying keys and stared at them for a while. Steve had expected Danny to be all quizzical. But there was no reaction again.

"Nah. I think it's better if you drive." Danny threw the keys back to Steve before getting in the car. Steve waited outside for a while, 'better'? What is that supposed to mean? He took a deep breath before entering into the Camaro too many thoughts screaming in his head. Danny had just refused to drive his own car. Any other day he would have cherished the moment but today was different. Today was just…wrong.

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MEANWHILE:

At the office:

Kono and Chin were busy at what they did best. The two had been researching for the past few hours. Chin had come up with nothing so far, nothing suspicious outside Antonio's house or bank accounts; cancelling out many of their possible theories. That many hours of research and nothing. Kono, on the other hand, came to her cousin's rescue.

Chin was in his office when Kono knocked on the door. She looked determined.

"I've got something cuz. C'mon out. I am calling Boss." She announced before hurriedly leaving.

Chin got up from his chair and walked to where Kono had ran off to in seconds. A little too determined. His mind provided.

By the time he was there, Kono was already on the phone with Steve.

"Kono, what do we know?" Steve asked from the other side of the line.

"Okay…I was going through traffic cams outside Max Dereck's house and I found a van with no name plate. So I dug deeper and guess what I found…That van was outside his house for the past 5 days and there definitely was a driver. Whoever it was, was keeping an eye on him. The driver's face was partly visible under the cam. So I ran facial recognition and got a hit. Nick Rodger; break-ins, robberies but nothing as huge as murders. I have got an address which of now has been sent to your phones." Kono informed her fingers in continuous motion.

"Russo's secretary thinks they were on some illegal business, see what you can find."

"Okay Boss…We'll get on it."

"Alright. Thanks Kono." Steve said before ending the call.

Kono looked at Chin who showed her a thumbs-up. "Great work, Kono." He said smiling at her. Chin was really proud of his cousin, she had accomplished a little too much in very little time. The sign of a good and honest cop.

"Thanks Cuz." She said innocently smiling before continuing, "So…can we please get out of here after checking their records?" she asked with her puppy-dog eyes staring right into his face.

"Alright, we can go…." Chin paused for a while. "…after the case is solved." He said sarcastically smiling and tucking his gun into his holster. "I don't fall for that face anymore, my dearest cousin." Chin said disappearing from sight. Kono let out a deep breath. We'll see about that.

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**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

...12:00:00 p.m...

Things were starting to get really blurry now. Max Dereck tried really hard to not lose consciousness as he felt his stomach burn from the inside. He was massively sweating, his hair strands sticking to his head. He even dropped the idea of turning around as he started to focus more on his breathing which was really ragged. "What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked, surprised at how croaky he sounded. "Water, I need water." He said before closing his eyes shut waiting for help to arrive.

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**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

...12:00:00 p.m...

At Nick Rodger's residence:

"For the last time Steve, maybe the guy is 'not' in there right now." Danny said in a very low voice. He was standing with his back on the wall and his arms crossed on his chest.

Steve and Danny had been standing outside Nick Rodger's house initially knocking now banging on his door. Steve was certain that the man was somewhere in there possibly terrified at the sound of police and that's why here they were…

"Hush Danny, you hear that?" Steve asked quietly holding his gun close to his chest. "I told you he is in there." They could hear footsteps from inside the house. Danny pulled out his gun too and stood in front of the door while Steve walked to the back of the house as slowly as possible to not trigger the mad man.

"Nick…we know you're in there man, c'mon out." Danny yelled at the top of his voice.

Just as Danny said that a loud thud was heard. He panicked as he heard it coming from where Steve was. He could feel his blood pressure rising. That was not normal but he really did not have the time to think about it. He called out for his partner as loudly as possible, "Steve!" and much to his horror there was no response. He moved an inch away from his initial position to see what was going on and that's when he saw Nick Rodgers running directly to him, Steve high on his heels.

Danny readied himself. It was a super easy task; take down a 'not' so big guy. Sure, he could do it.

Danny did catch him but surprisingly he could not support his own weight anymore, his knees felt weak. The effort he was putting to hold on to the man trying to escape completely drained him out of energy. He felt the air being sucked out of him. Before he could even realize, he fell on the ground with a loud thud Nick right on top of him. Danny pushed Nick off of him with whatever energy he had left in him throwing him a little far with a louder thud.

"Now you better stay down…." He warned still lying with his back on the ground.

Steve just stood there for a moment as he saw Danny lying on the floor and coughing violently. He hurriedly rushed to Rodgers grabbing him by the collar and slapping handcuffs around his wrists. He held on to Rodgers with his one hand while extended the other to help Danny up who was now lying motionless on the ground.

Once up, Danny could see the world spinning around him. A frown appeared on his face before he closed his eyes and waited for it to pass.

"Danny, you good?" Steve asked staring at him feeling helpless.

"Yeah...Just a headache." Danny answered opening his eyes a little while later.

"C'mon let's go." Steve said violently pushing Rodgers to the back seat venting out his anger on him giving him the 'you-hurt-him-again-you-are-dead-meat' look which obviously scared the crap out of the kid.

Danny who just ignored his surroundings tiredly seated himself in the Camaro followed by Steve. The two were awkward for a while. Danny noticed how Steve had opened his mouth and closed it a dozen of times trying to speak to him but he overlooked it.

"Why are we still here?" He asked realizing that Steve had decided to talk first, drive later.

That was the signal for Steve. I get it. He shook his head sighing at his partner's denial. Sure, you're alright, he angrily thought to himself before driving off to their office.

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**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

...01:00:00 p.m...

Max Dereck was intelligent enough to realize, by now, that help was not coming. He shivered violently before holding on to his stomach as another spasm ran through his body. His head throbbed as he continuously hit it on the floor of where he was trying to gain attention of anyone. He could not talk, let alone scream anymore. He prepared himself for his death. There was no way he was going to survive this and his suspicions were proven right when the very next moment he tasted blood in his mouth. Out of panic and pain, he turned around wincing at the changes the movement had caused inside of him. That was when he realized where he was. Oh Shit. He thought to himself before finally losing his battle with death.

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**Ok...tell me what you think about this chapter. Reviews...they make my day. So don't forget to do that. Thank you for all those who reviewed and followed. The next chapter will be up in a few days...4 or 5. But it will be. **

**-Ellie!**


	4. Chapter 4

**TITLE**:Holding on.

**BY**: Ellie!

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**O.K I know its been forever since I last updated but my life is just too busy right now. I've got exams and my teachers are not making it any easier. I barely have the time to read your stories let alone write one. I know that's no excuse but...I had to try. Sorry this chapter is a small one. Hopefully, its satisfying. I really can't wait for Friday's episode. Hope there's Danny whump to see there. Thank you for still holding on to my story. (sigh) Got to go and study to be able to watch the show. **

**Until then, read on...**

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**CHAPTER:4**

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

...01:00:00 p.m...

At the office- Interrogation room:

"Nick Rodgers- you are a small time crook; robberies, thefts, vandalism but murder…what triggered you to kill this time?" Steve asked bending closer to Rodger's face.

From how much they had extracted from their suspect, one thing was clear- the guy was very scared. Danny's instincts told him, from the very first time they had started to interrogate Rodgers that he could not have been the killer. He might have just helped but he was definitely not the kind of guy who would give orders. There was someone else behind all this. Someone smart enough.

"I did not kill anyone." Nick yelled, tears forming in his eyes.

"Really, you expect us to believe a criminal?" Danny asked shaking his head with disbelief. Why do they even try? He thought to himself.

"I did not kill him because as far as I know he is not dead." Their suspect said tears now flowing down his cheeks. Steve looked at Danny. At least now they knew that their victim was alive.

"Why were you keeping an eye on Max Dereck?" Steve folded his arms on his chest waiting for an answer.

"I…" Rodgers paused, "I needed the money. Someone came to me and told me that they would give me whatever I needed if I just do as they say. I just had to keep an eye on him. I did exactly that. I didn't know their plan until I saw them breaking into his house and beating the crap out of him. The next thing I know, they climb into my van asking for a ride."

"A ride to where?" Danny asked giving the man a glare that could melt one's face. He was disgusted at how some people valued money more than someone's life.

Nick Rodgers did not answer. He rested his chin on his chest and took a deep breath.

"WHERE?" Steve yelled startling the man who suddenly jerked at the height of Steve's anger and replied hurriedly, "It was the trunk of a Black Impala…" regretting it later. Rodgers slammed his foot on the ground and screamed out of panic, "Shit. Shit. They're going to kill me."

"How about an address?" Steve asked looking at his partner broadly smiling at his victory. Danny just rolled his eyes. Yeah, okay Mr. Perfect.

* * *

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY. **

...01:30:00 p.m...

Nick Rodgers had given the address and now Chin and Kono were on their way while Steve and Danny stayed back at the office.

Steve was in his office thinking about what had happened with Danny, not just once, twice. He had enough experience in life to know that one time could be a co-incidence but twice…twice meant something was wrong. He was deep in his thoughts when he heard the sound of shattering glass. He frowned realizing it was coming from Danny's office. Before he could react, he heard his name being called out, "STEVE!" He recognized his partner's voice and hurriedly got up from his chair barely holding in his stomach's contents. Danny sounded petrified and scared. Steve ran as fast as his feet could take him with his mind only set at saving his partner. He reached the office in what felt like years pushing open the door and staring at the sight in front of him.

* * *

Meanwhile in Danny's office:

I am tired, that's it. Danny tried yet again to convince himself. Something was wrong with him. He could feel it from the very beginning of the day but he had tried really hard to ignore the burning sensation in his stomach. He pinched the bridge of his nose sighing at his head ache. There was no part of his body that was not in pain and things were only getting worse. Danny shook his head trying to somehow jerk the thoughts away from his head when he heard someone open his office's door.

"Steve…if you're here to talk about today, then don't because I am fine." He said placing his palm on his forehead, eyes still closed.

He heard 'Steve' close the door and walk towards him. Danny found it strange how his partner just stood there, without uttering a word. He suddenly felt uneasy. To confirm his suspicions, he looked up and to his horror, he was right. The man- obviously not Steve, all of a sudden grabbed Danny by the collar and shoved him to the wall. Danny's back collided with the large-sized painting at the back, shattering it into many tiny pieces making him wince as he felt his back burn due to the impact. He continuously kept kicking, hitting every object around him, not to mention his gun which went flying in the air too far from Danny's reach. Finally he succeeded to dodge the man making a run for it. His victory lasted only for a few seconds though as the man grabbed Danny's leg sending him to the ground with a loud thud. Before he could even try to get up, the man sat down on him firmly grasping his neck in his abnormally large fist making it difficult for him to breathe. Danny moved his hands violently looking for an object to get the large man off of him and that was when he noticed his gun hiding beneath the sofa. He tried to reach to it but failed miserably. He tried again and was only an inch away from it, when the man used his free hand sliding the gun further away. Danny called out his partner's name "STEVE!" struggling and trying to pull away the man's hands as he felt the air being completely sucked out of him. He had a strange feeling in his stomach about his situation, a memory in his head making its way up but he had to put his thoughts on hold as he started to lose consciousness. That was when he saw the office's door whooshed open and a familiar face stare at him. Steve. Thank God, his mind provided before his vision slowly began to grow dark and the large man practically sitting on him became only patches of skin before completely disappearing. He looked once again at Steve closing his eyes shut. Now, lying motionless he began to think of his daughter, his friends, all good memories rushing back to him. He knew 'it' was coming but he had just imagined it to be in different circumstances. He knew he wasn't invincible but right now he wanted to believe it so bad. He readied himself. Danny Williams was going to die.

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**O.K...Cliffie. But you know there has to be at least one. Tell me what you think about the chapter. Reviews mean a lot to me. For those I haven't been able to thank, you guys are awesome. You're the reason I am still writing. Anyways, the next chapter will be up maybe next week. Like I said exams...I've got to wait till they finish. So...until then, have a good life.**

**-Ellie!**


	5. Chapter 5

**TITLE**: Holding on.

**BY**: Ellie!

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**HA! Finally I made it. This one took longer than I wanted it to. I put my heart and soul in writing it...though my brain kept nagging me. Sunday will be my last exam...then I might actually upload sooner. Thanks for still holding on to the story. Read and enjoy!**

* * *

**CHAPTER:5**

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY**

**02:00:00p.m**

At the office:

Steve mustered up all his courage as he pushed the door open to face the situation. He looked around the office noticing the shattered glass pieces and signs of struggle. His heart beat was too loud too fast but he really did not care about it right now. He held onto the back of his neck before running to his partner who was lying with his back on the ground. Steve stared at him for a while. He could see Danny was struggling; his hands close to his neck trying to pull away…nothing but air. Is Danny hallucinating? His mind questioned. He hurriedly discarded the screaming thoughts in his head and moved to his partner in no time, sitting on his knees, holding on to his shoulders and shaking him violently.

"Danny…buddy get up." He yelled trying to hold his own. Panicking was not a solution to the problem.

"Danny. Open your eyes for me buddy. Please. Please." Steve was practically begging now. He checked Danny's pulse. Danny's heart beat was a bit too fast but it was manageable. He helplessly shook his partner not knowing the cause of his friend to behave like this. He touched Danny's face lightly tapping his cheeks. "C'mon, open your eyes for me. DANNY!" Steve yelled tears forming in his eyes. Much to his relief, Danny responded twitching his slightly blue lips. He shot his eyes wide open as the memory of his attack came rushing back to him pushing Steve away from him in the process.

"Its me Danny, Steve. Steve McGarrett. You recognize me?" Steve asked forcefully pushing his partner to the ground preventing him from harming himself. The mentioning of his brother's name suddenly calmed Danny down as he stopped struggling and stared into Steve's face weakly.

"Steve?" He asked blinking his eyes feebly.

Steve touched Danny's sweat drenched forehead telling him he was there. "You recognize me?" Steve asked desperately hoping for a yes.

On getting no response, he tensed. "Danny...hey, do you know who I am?" He asked looking directly into his partner's eyes. A frown appeared on his face as he noticed Danny blankly staring at him.

"C'mon you know this face. There is no way you can forget it." He said pointing towards himself and grinning, desperately hoping for a never-ending rant from his partner. His words were only faintly heard by Danny, on the other hand his goofy grin gave it all away.

"Neantherdal." It sounded more like an answer. Steve let out a deep breathe and nodded his head while Danny relaxed back down on the ground, his hands covering his face. Steve who was overwhelmed by his emotions relaxed too still holding onto Danny's collar protectively. He was not going to let anything happen to his partner. Not anymore. He stared at Danny taking deep breaths letting the events of the day play back in his head and falling towards the wall. He placed his elbows on his knees holding his head with his hands and breathing heavily into his palms. It was just too much to handle in one day, even for Steve. Just too much.

* * *

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY**.

...02:30:00 p.m...

"This is not going to be easy cuz." Kono stated the obvious.

Right now, Chin, Kono and the other HPD officers were standing in a very large area hoarded with all kinds of vehicles. They knew their victim had very less time and the sight in front of them was not making it any easier.

The search for the black impala took longer than they had wished for it to. Kono was the first one who noticed the car parked behind a large container, thanks to her gut feeling, which otherwise would never have been found.

"Chin…" she called out moving closer to the vehicle.

It was a few seconds later that Chin came running to her, his gun drawn. "You okay?" He asked worriedly looking around for potential criminals.

"I am fine. Look." Kono pointed towards the impala parked a few feet away from her.

After having matched the name plates, the duo ran to the car slowly and carefully opening up the trunk with the hopes of finding their victim alive but to their horror the sight in front of them was what they had not expected. Max Dereck was lying on his side, motionless, his eyes shut, his hand loosely clutching his stomach and face almost gone blue. They could see blood dripping from his mouth and drops of sweat all over his forehead. Kono's heart sank as she covered her mouth with her palm realizing that the man was dead. She hesitantly brought her fingers closer to his neck and checked his pulse. Yes, he was dead.

"Only if we had got here sooner." Chin muttered venting his anger on the car.

Chin and Kono did not know what the reason behind the man's death was but they were certain that it was not easy. Death is never easy but this time, it just looked a lot more painful.

"We'll get this bastard cuz." Kono said angrily. They were not going to let anyone else go through something like this again. Not on their watch. Chin dialed Steve's number and waited still gritting his teeth in anger.

* * *

MEANWHILE AT THE OFFICE:

After the whole 'incident' Steve and Danny seemed to be lost. Obvious. Danny was not sure what to be more scared of, the fact that he had just had a near-death experience or the fact that the whole thing was just a hallucination. On the other hand, Steve knew exactly what was troubling him right now, his PARTNER. The duo was sitting in Steve's office but none of them had even uttered a word. They just looked at each other once in a while, opening and closing their mouths innumerable times. They had just so many things to say.

Steve opened his mouth yet again to only be interrupted by his phone vibrating in his jeans pocket. He tiredly took the 'irritating thing' out and answered the call.

"Chin…what is it?" He asked clearly annoyed. Sure, blame it all on Chin. Steve shook his head with disbelief. He hated himself now.

_"Steve…everything alright?" _

"Yeah..yeah it's a long story. So did you find Max Dereck?"

_"We did… he is dead Steve. We don't know exactly how. There was nothing Max could find from his preliminary examinations. We are going to have to wait for any further details."_

Steve could hear Kono talk to somebody in the background and the usual. Steve's mind, anyway, was more set on listening to Danny's breathing which still had not reached its normal rhythm.

"Okay…uhh…I'll go talk to Rodgers, tell him that he murdered somebody." Steve said still peeking glances at his partner.

_"Where's Danny?"_

"Danny…" Steve paused looking into his partner's reluctant eyes gaining his attention. "…Danny is going to rest for a while."

A frown appeared on his partner's forehead giving him the 'I –am-not-going-anywhere' look making Steve give him his 'So-not-happening' face, "Period." He added. He was done with the lies.

* * *

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

03:00:00 p.m.

At the office:

Steve had dropped Danny home almost half an hour ago. He had suggested a trip to the hospital dozens of times but Danny disagreed to it. "I am fine Steve. I am just too tired, you know what I mean? The work can do that sometimes. Besides, I hate hospitals. My health might actually worsen there. Look if anything happens, I'll call you babe." Steve had begged again but with no luck. Steve continued to tell himself, even now, that all that his partner needed was rest but nothing was satisfying him. Not anymore. Not even Danny's words, correction, especially Danny's words. He was irritated at himself for re-playing the memory of Danny tiredly walking to his house the hundredth time in his head. He had noticed how his partner had taken slow and painful steps wincing every time he moved his muscles, his hands very uncomfortably dug inside his pant pockets. Danny was surely avoiding him, dodging all of his questions perfectly.

"So…you're telling me he was hallucinating?" Chin asked shock written all over his face, Kono copying his expressions.

Chin's question fortunately interrupted Steve's thoughts, that too on the right time. His imagination was just starting to run wild.

"Yes. I am sure. I don't know what triggered his unusual behavior, but I really hope it's something a break can fix." He answered still not convinced.

The trio was walking towards the interrogation room to inform their one and only, not very reliable source about their recent findings.

"Did you talk to him?" Chin asked indicating Kono to go before opening the door to where Nick Rodgers was held making way for Steve to enter.

"No..." Steve shook his head keeping aside all his thoughts away for now and pulling up his angry look on before turning around to look at Rodgers in his eyes. They had a case to solve.

"Okay Rodgers, I have got some really bad news for you, Max Dereck. Is. Dead." Steve informed bending and staring into the petrified man's face, the last part of the sentence coming out louder than he wanted it to.

"What? No, no, no, no. This was not suppose to happen." Nick Rodgers was now stomping his feet on the ground out of guilt, tears flowing down his cheeks yet again.

Chin and Steve looked at each other and then at Rodgers. Rodgers was reacting in the way they wanted him to. Good.

"Look Rodgers, I know you're hoarded with guilt right now. I know you will do anything to make it right. So just tell us everything you know. We need names. Names of those involved. Help us get the man who turned you into an accomplice in murder." Chin had decided to become the calm good guy for once as Steve was very perfectly, not 'fully' intentionally playing the role of the scary, aggressive one.

Rodgers took a deep breath. "Sullivan, his name was Sullivan; the guy who paid me. He was a strongly-built man with a scorpion tattoo on his shoulder." He informed much to Steve's relief. At least they were going somewhere with the case.

The very next second, Steve stormed out of the interrogation room not wanting to listen any further. They had to get to Sullivan before somebody else was targeted. He was their best and unfortunately their only lead. They had to get to him and fast.

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**Okay...I need to know what you think about this chapter. I am sorry if there are errors, I did not really have the time to proof-read it. Anyways...I know you were hoping for some Danny whump back then, but I needed Steve to be panicky first. And obviously, he is more than just panicky now. I know I should be sending Danny to a hospital but I have a pretty good idea as to how I want it to be. Hopefully, it will be satisfying. Sorry for the late update. Danny is very stubborn he would never go to a hospital if he did not want to, besides he does not want to worry the ones he love. Atleast, that's how Danny is to me. And that's how I love him. So caring about others, but careless when it comes to himself. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon...after sunday, I'll be a free bird...but only for 2 weeks. Ahh! I am going to try to complete my story before that. Until Sunday...Tata! And please review. Reviews= updates. :)**

**-Ellie!**


	6. Chapter 6

**TITLE: Holding on**

**BY: Ellie!**

** O.K Here is the next chapter. Please review. I have almost completed the chapter after this one so I will BE posting it sometime soon. Uhhh...I am soooo very sorry for my late updates. Believe me, you can't hate me ****more than I hate myself for this. Anyways...enjoy. And review!**

* * *

**CHAPTER:6**

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY.**

...03:30:00 p.m...

At Sullivan's residence:

The ride to Sullivan's possible address was a very bumpy but quiet one. Chin knew that Steve was worried and fuming with anger right now and hence the speed of the car. But he could not blame Steve for it. Danny was his partner.

Chin was almost thrown out of his seat as Steve pulled the brakes and hurriedly got out of the car. He tried his best to keep up with the fiery speed of his Navy friend almost failing as he noticed him suddenly grab Sullivan by his collar and hastily push him in the car. It could have become worse, Chin's mind provided after having scanned Sullivan for possible injuries and only finding a bleeding forehead; which Chin agreed to, was something he deserved. One day with an utmost irritated Steve, so this is what it feels like. Way to go, Danny. He thought before letting out a deep breath and getting into the car. This was one messed-up day.

* * *

MEANWHILE AT THE LABORATORY:

"You have something for me Max?" Kono asked entering into the laboratory and crossing her arms on her chest, disgusted at the sight in front of her.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Max sternly replied from behind the computer screen moving closer to the now cut and fully opened body of Max Dereck.

"Why did you leave him like this?"

"I still have more tests to run. We are dealing with something extra-ordinary here, Kono. Your victim died the most painful death that can only be caused by a certain virus really rare on earth."

"Wait…we're talking biological?" Kono asked stunned.

"Unfortunately, yes. It is fatal. It was never fully studied before the project got cancelled. The virus is injected into the body of the victim. Initially, the person infected feels weak and vulnerable, before his/her insides start to alter."

"Alter?"

"Body aches, spasms, memory loss, hallucinations. In a nutshell, everything terrible. It causes a really slow and painful death. It roughly takes 15 hours before the pain becomes unbearable. Death follows a few hours later. From what I have gathered from him, he was possibly injected last night somewhere around 10 p.m." Max spoke quickly staring at the dead man in front of him.

He waited for a response from Kono and when he did not get one, he turned around to look at her only to find her staring in space.

Hallucinations? Steve had filled Kono in about Danny's 'incident' back at the office. And now listening to this, Kono had all kinds of thoughts in her head. Unpleasant thoughts. Maybe it's just a co-incidence, her mind suggested but that from no angle seemed satisfactory. Danny was just not himself the whole day. She thought of informing her friends but she had to verify it first.

With fear intensifying in her body, "Thanks Max. I have got to go." She said hurriedly storming out of the laboratory. Just don't be too late. She begged rushing to the office as fast as she could in the hopes of her gut feeling to be just paranoiac and nothing else.

* * *

**24th MARCH. 2014. SUNDAY. **

...04:00:00 p.m...

At the office- Interrogation room:

"I have nothing to tell you." Sullivan sneered staring back at Steve's face.

Steve and Chin had been interrogating for a long time now and the former was really pissed while the latter was worried sick because of the former. Kono had stayed back at the office after informing the others about the details Max had given her, for conducting 'an important case-related research' like she had put it so poorly receiving frowns from the rest of her teammates.

"Look…" Chin continued looking at their suspect before resuming, "I really can't hold him back anymore…." He murmured into the man's ear pointing towards Steve who stared at Sullivan not blinking even once.

Sullivan had decided to not even utter a word but Chin could see he was starting to have second thoughts. Their suspect swallowed hard noticing how red Steve had become but unfortunately, decided to push his luck. "Nah…I think I'm going to stick to the classic…I need a lawyer."

Wrong decision because the next second Steve pounced on the man smacking him hard on the face, his already bleeding forehead now throbbing and fresh wounds starting to form.

Sullivan pleadingly looked at Chin who just shook his head, "I warned you" turning around to exit the room. Looking at Chin leaving him to the beast in front of him, Sullivan panicked for the first time screaming at the top of his lungs, "NO….No don't leave me here with him. I'll tell you everything. Please."

Great. Chin thought stopping at the door and turning around to face Sullivan a smile plastered on his face. "Glad you changed your mind.." surely proud of his fellow 5-0 member.

"Somebody hired me along with others to kidnap Max Dereck." The man confessed not making eye-contact and staring at his feet.

"We know that knucklehead. What else?" Steve asked noticing how the man was still trying to hide facts. Like that was going to work.

"It was a man named Antonio Pedrez…." Sullivan replied nervously.

Steve and Chin looked at each other. Turns out Danny was right, one of them was indeed the culprit.

"Where is he then?" Steve asked eyeing the man.

"I don't know…." Sullivan said noting a frown appear on Steve's head. " I am telling you the truth…I don't know…" He pressed, noticing Steve's frown deepen.

"He told us to kidnap and inject him with something. We followed orders. We were getting paid for it and that was enough for us. We threw him into the trunk of one of the cars and that's when we received another message."

"What was the message about?" Chin asked impatiently.

"It was information about our next victim." Sullivan replied ashamed of his actions. About time you felt the guilt, Steve thought almost smiling at the improvement their suspect had made since his outburst. Fear had ways of changing people.

"Who was it?" Steve asked eyeing the man, waiting for an answer. Sullivan looked at him nervously before taking a deep breath. Chin who had stood there the whole time controlling his own spoke, his voice dangerously calm, "We need a name. Who is it? Is he even alive?"

Drops of sweat shone on Sullivan's head as he swallowed hard. "Detective Daniel Williams, 5-0." The man whispered guiltily. He readied himself. Relaying this information to the friends of his victim who happened to be cops was going to get him no where except an entry into the world of the dead.

Chin and Steve just stood there processing the information, giving their brains time to absorb it. Daniel Williams- they heard the name being repeated in their heads. Steve was finally able to put all the missing pieces together.

"It was around 3:00 a.m." Sullivan spoke unintentionally, the words coming out on their own. He prepared himself for blows, this time from the two of them for harming their friend but to his surprise (delight) the two totally ignored him. Steve looked at him intently. It's too late? It's never too late, not until Danny stops breathing and that was not an option for him right now, he thought as he ran his hand through his hair. They were going to kill Sullivan no doubt but Danny was their first priority. The duo stormed out of the room as fast as their feet could take them in efforts to save their Jersey Detective.

Danny just be ok. Please, be okay. Steve silently prayed making his way to the Smart Table.

* * *

MEANWHILE AT THE OFFICE:

Kono was worried. At this point she was not sure about anything and that only meant more possibilities. She was making efforts to look at the case from different perspectives, somehow trying to connect it to Danny. It was her gut feeling again, this time more certain than ever. The 'incident' at Danny's office could not have been a co-incidence. Her mind was screaming at her to let the matter go, but she just could not resist. She was looking through the traffic cams outside Danny's house and that was when she noticed something that made her gasp. She placed her palm preventing a yell from escaping her mouth, staring at the screen in front of her.

She saw how three large men, stood outside Danny's house, trying to make their way in. She saw her friend point his gun at them but all in vain as the men pushed him inside the house. What was happening in there was unknown and her heart sank as she felt her fear coming true. It was only after forwarding the video to an hour later, she saw them leave like nothing happened with no signs of Danny.

She did not even notice Steve and Chin walking in and barking orders at her. She ignored everything they said before looking at them with watery eyes, "Guys…Danny…he needs help."

* * *

**Tell me what you think? LIKE? No? Review. The next chapter is the one I'm most anxious about where Steve and the others find Danny...obviously not in a good condition. Anyways...I've said enough. See you in a day, maybe two.**

**Until then...BEBYE!**

**-Ellie!**


	7. Chapter 7

**TITLE**: Holding On

**BY: **Ellie!

**Hey people...thank you so much for the wonderful reviews...I am so glad you liked the last chapter and as promised, here is the next one. Enjoy!**

* * *

**CHAPTER:7**

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY**

...04:00:30 p.m...

At Danny's residence:

Danny felt miserable. By now, he was certain something was really wrong and he just smacked himself in the head for not agreeing to go to a hospital. He was inside his room, lying on his bed uncomfortably, covered with sheets, blankly staring at his ceiling. He was profusely sweating, his t-shirt sticking to his body and his eyes barely open. He felt a shiver run through his spine as he cuddled himself deeper into the sheets. He could almost hear his far from normal heart beat in the deadly silence. He made attempts to keep his mind off his worsening health inaudibly humming to himself. But to his annoyance, the humming only made things worse as he went into a coughing fit, jerking up from his bed and staggering to his bathroom emptying all his stomach's contents. He puked almost everything he had eaten since morning, his throat and stomach burning from the inside. It was only the next second that he started dry-heaving which went on forever, one arm clutching his stomach, the other taking the support of the wall. The coughing fit drained him of whatever little energy was left inside his body making it a struggle for him to reach his bed. He slowly and cautiously walked, wincing as his muscles ached intolerably, swallowing hard as he felt the world spin around him and his knees lose balance. He only just prevented himself from falling by taking hold of the table in front of him. Once his vision cleared a little bit, he walked further finally entering his room in what felt like a lifetime. Once in there, he noticed his phone buzzing on his bed, he walked a little faster and hurriedly picked his phone up, regretting the sudden motion.

"Steve…hey..." he said, his voice almost inaudible. His head was throbbing now and the movement had only triggered a sudden blazing pain as Danny fell down on his knees, doubling over and letting out a groan.

_"Hey. Danny. You okay, buddy?"_

Danny heard his partner ask him. He let out another grunt as he felt his insides churning. Before he could respond, the phone slipped out of his hand as he crashed down on the ground, gripping his stomach with both his arms and curling onto himself. The pain had reached its maximum level and now all Danny could hear was his partner's voice calling out to him. His back-up. Without even realizing, he cried as loud as he could, "STEVE…HELP ME! ….help me…" almost whispering the last part of the sentence. Danny stayed on his side for a while rocking his body up and down in efforts to lessen the pain, Steve's words of reassurance helping greatly in the process. He breathed heavily, his eyes slowly beginning to shut hoping for his friend to reach before it was too late.

* * *

MEANWHILE:

Kono was crying now. She quickly wiped her tears off, hopping into the back seat of Steve's car as they rushed to Danny's house. Crying was not going to help besides she needed to be strong for her friend. Chin was worried too but Steve…Steve was a mess. Chaotic. He felt guilty for not pushing Danny enough to go to a hospital. He felt guilty for not trying to talk to his partner who was in great pain and distress, probably terrified of what was going on within him. He blamed himself for everything that was happening now. Steve angrily punched the steering wheel, slamming the brakes of his car noticing the traffic light go red. They had no time to waste.

"Kono, I need you to call an ambulance at Danny's address. We don't how we'll find him there." Steve almost yelled without looking back at her. He knew Kono was crying and seeing her was going to make conveying these heart-wrenching words all the more difficult. He swallowed hard as he felt his heart reach up to his throat surprised to find his breakfast still intact.

He heard Kono call an ambulance and inform them about what they're going to have to deal with. Meanwhile, he took out his phone and tossed it over to Chin.

"Call Danny." He said turning the steering wheel and taking a sharp right turn.

The trio now desperately waited. It took him sometime but eventually Danny picked up the phone.

_"Steve…Hey..."_

Danny's voice came out almost as a whisper. He was breathing heavily out of tiredness, the others doing the same out of respite. He's alive, Steve thought to himself relief washing over him.

Much to his horror, it was only short-lived as he pushed harder on the accelerator hearing a groan escape Danny's mouth. Trying really hard to hide the concern in his voice, "Hey Danny, you okay buddy?" He managed to ask.

His heart jumped in its place as he heard another grunt, a lot louder this time indicating the excruciating pain that his partner was in. That was before everything went silent.

"Danny?" Danny you there?" Chin asked running his hand through his hair.

"No…no this can't be happening. Danny? DANNY?" Steve yelled looking intently at the phone, forgetting the fact that he was driving.

They barely avoided an accident as Steve heard Kono's sudden intake of breath and then a 'Steve. Look out' from both his teammates. Had it not been for them, it would have been the large truck and the Blue Silverado with no possible survivors. Steve on the other hand did not seem to care.

"Danno…speak to me." He pleaded.

_"STEVE…HELP ME! ….help me…" _

The trio heard their friend scream. Danny's plea for help echoed in their ears as they felt their hearts stop beating for a second. They all stared in space, motionless imagining Danny in his house…alone and in so much pain. They all shook their heads before finally coming back to their senses. Steve being the first one. They could go into shock later. Now they needed to be strong.

"We're on our way. Danny, just hang on. Please. Just hang on. We're here. Just a few more seconds Danny, I swear." He coaxed.

Steve hurriedly slammed the brakes a few feet away from Danny's apartment throwing himself and the others off their seats.

He ran out of the car not even bothering to close the door kicking the door to Danny's house open, Chin and Kono right behind him. The door detached from its hinges and was barely hanging. Danno is so going to kill me for that. His mind provided discarding the thought quickly. He had more important things to think about. Steve flicked on the lights and hurriedly searched Danny's not very huge apartment finally running to the well-lit bedroom.

"Danny?" He called out slowly opening the door trying to not startle the suffering man. He gasped as he spotted his partner lying a few feet away from his bed on the ground, on his side, shivering and protectively clutching his stomach, his face scrunched in pain and his eyes closed. Steve's heart clenched at the sight as he ran towards his partner getting down on his knees in his line of sight.

He touched his partner's shoulder squeezing it a little, "Danny?" His voice thick with emotions preparing himself for the worst.

Danny moaned in pain, coming awake with a harsh gasp as he suddenly felt the pain in every part of his body return with two times the intensity. He turned around, his back now on the ground writhing in agony. The trio pinned him to the ground, somehow relieved to find their friend still breathing…barely but breathing.

Kono supported Danny's head placing it on her lap while Steve and Chin took hold of his cold hands. Slowly but finally Danny stopped jerking when he felt the warmth of familiar hands gently stroking his hair.

"He looks really bad Steve." Chin whispered. The last thing they wanted was Danny to start panicking again.

"Where the hell is that ambulance?" Steve angrily muttered under his breath, swearing colorfully.

"Guys… he's running a fever." Kono interrupted Steve's never-ending stream of swear words placing her palm on Danny's sweat-drenched forehead, wincing at the heat radiated. Danny hissed in pain under her touch. The three exchanged worried glances looking back at their friend who was trying really hard to open his eyes. They could see him open them for a while before sliding them shut again.

The three realized their friend's dilemma as the next second Chin gently placed Danny's arm on the ground in efforts to not cause him unnecessary pain and got up to switch the lights off.

"Can you open your eyes for us now?" Kono asked gently running her hand through his blonde hair.

Much to their relief, Danny obeyed. He was still in pain but his panic and fear had conceded as he saw familiar faces stare at him.

"Hey there!" Steve gave his best goofy grin to his partner trying to hide the concern written all over his face.

"Hey! Wha.…" Danny's voice was hoarse and slurred. He frowned in confusion, his eyes barely open as he realized he was not on his bed and where his head was lying was definitely not his pillow. It was something more soft and warm. A lot more comfortable. He looked around him. Kono. His mind provided. He dug his head deeper into her laps relaxing a little more, the others smiling at him.

"Danny? Talk to me man. Where does it hurt?" Stupid question but Steve just wanted his partner to stay awake.

"Uuuuhhhhh…I'dun'o…ever'thng." His partner replied out of sarcasm, grinning weakly, gritting his teeth in pain seconds later.

Chin shook his head with disbelief. Even now, Danny was trying to sound normal.

"I bet!" Steve gently rubbed circles on Danny's hand with his thumb trying to somehow comfort him.

"Steve….what's wrn'g… wit' me?" Danny asked through incomplete words. Steve tried his best to dodge the question that he was sure was coming his way sooner or later, failing miserably as Danny decided to not let it go.

"Steve…I need to'knw." He spoke through jittering teeth.

Danny weakly looked at Chin and Kono who reacted the same way as Steve clearly annoyed by their response.

"If I'm go'n to die an'time soon, I'd like… "he paused trying to rhythm out his breathing before continuing… "to be informed beforehand"." He finally managed to complete.

"Shut up Danny." Steve replied starting to get a little agitated more focused on holding his own.

Danny had noticed how his friends cringed at his statement. That was enough for him to know that he was serious. Probably dying. He closed his eyes letting the information sink in feeling a sudden tremor run through his body.

The trio felt their friend tremble beneath their hold as Steve and Chin began to rub their hands against Danny's cold ones. Every time he groaned or uncomfortably moved, their heart jumped in its place. Every time he opened his eyes, which was not too many times- another cause of Steve's concern, they felt their breathing go back to its normal rhythm and when he closed them, they feared for the worst. The same continued for little longer before finally they heard sounds of siren fast approaching. Chin quickly went out to direct the medics towards Danny's room.

"You need to move to let us do our jobs." One of the medics said firmly but gently. The trio complied as they saw more medics making their way towards Danny, pinning his restless body to the ground. Much to his team's horror, Danny was panicking again worsening the already ruined situation.

There was no other way to stop Danny from harming himself but Steve just could not put up with the scene anymore. He noticed Danny groan in pain as one of the medics shone the torch light into his eyes. Not being able to control himself he yelled in frustration,

"Don't do that. You're hurting him."

Danny shakily reached out his hand recognizing his partner's voice, "Steve…." He whispered under the oxygen mask that had been placed on his mouth.

"I am here. I am not going anywhere Danno." Steve clung to his partner's side pushing the medics aside, taking his hand into his own.

Steve's touch seemed to calm the detective down as he allowed the medics to poke and prod him for the rest of the process before lifting him up and positioning him on the gurney. The action ignited a blazing pain throughout his body as he screamed in agony before finally losing consciousness.

Steve did not let go of his partner's hand as he got into the ambulance and Chin closed the doors of the vehicle, Kono clinging on to her cousin's arm.

Once the ambulance was out of sight, Kono broke down tears flowing down her cheeks. Chin pulled her into a hug trying to reassure her. She tightened her grip around his waist and buried her face into his chest as he spoke softly in her ear,

"Shhh..Kono. Don't cry. He's going to be fine."

"But you saw what happened to Max Dereck…" Kono replied digging her face deeper into his chest as the unpleasant memories came rushing back to her.

"Well he did not have us to help him. Did he?" Chin asked rubbing circles on her back as he felt her relax under his hold.

After a while when her sobs finally subsided, the cousins got into Steve's truck tearing out of its parking spot with sirens blaring sending out silent prayers for their friend to be fine and…alive.

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**Ok...How was it? Did it live up to your expectations? More angst is sure to come. I need your reviews...it encourages me to write. Poor Danny, I feel like an evil person. But as long as your enjoying, I am completely fine with it. The next chapter will be up in 2 or 3 days. And thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited and followed. It means a lot to me. Until then, bebye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**TITLE: **Holding On

**BY: **Ellie!

**Alright...I am sooo sorry to keep you waiting. I know I was suppose to update two days ago...but you know life. Things jump out of nowhere. Anyways...here is the next chapter. I hope you like it. I had fun writing it. Enjoy! And thanks for still sticking to the story. **

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**CHAPTER:8**

**24th MARCH 2014. MONDAY**

...05:00:00 p.m...

The ride to the hospital was a very quiet and unnerving one for Steve. Danny had not even flinched once as the paramedics worked on him although he had slipped in and out of consciousness too many times for Steve to keep count. Danny just rested on the gurney motionless and unmoving unlike his characteristic self who could otherwise rant on forever with his hands flailing in front of him.

Steve was still holding on to Danny's hand rubbing circles with his thumb letting him know that he was there for him. He noticed the too pale complexion of his partner's face realizing just how vulnerable he was now. Shoving his not so pleasant thoughts away at the back of his head, he smiled to himself recalling the many times Danny had saved his 'suicidal' sorry ass. He chuckled remembering the conversation he had had with his partner the day after he returned from Korea, beaten and battered.

_"I am your PARTNER Steve McGarrett. Do you even know the meaning of the word? It means that I, Daniel Williams, your PARTNER, SHOULD be informed when you run off to some crazy ass mission somewhere miles and miles away from Hawaii, on your own with no knowledge whatsoever of what you're going to have to deal with there. And imagine my surprise when I get a call from someone, shall I add not 'you' informing me that you've been captured, not to mention tortured by your enemy who probably wants you dead. Did I miss anything?"_

_"I am standing right in front of you Danny and as you can see I am pretty much alive." He remembered saying so coolly noticing Danny's face go red with anger, "I am not dead. He says! I am fine. He says."_

_"I am a NavySeal Danny. I know the art of withstanding torture for longer than…."_

_"I never said you don't Steve. I don't doubt your strengths. You're the strongest man that I've ever met in my entire life. But you should know I can't….I can't withstand, even the idea of you or anyone I care about being beaten to a pulp, alone and…and dying." Danny's voice was calm but concerned, tears threatening to fall anytime. "Besides I really don't want to go through the trouble of finding a partner again." He had added not making eye contact._

Steve noticed the paramedics give him confused expressions like he had lost his mind. Ignoring them, he looked back at the still form of his brother protectively tightening his grip on his hand, "You need to fight this Danny. For Grace, for your family. Please you need to get through this…for me. I need you, man. I do. I need you to be there for protecting my ass. Please. Just…you've got to hold on."

The ambulance came to a halt in front of the hospital. Steve had only realized that when one of the medics hurriedly opened the doors of the ambulance putting Steve out of his misery. He had to be strong. Do not PANIC. He warned himself wiping his tears off with his sleeve; the other hand still clasped around Danny's cautiously helping the medics in loading the gurney out of the ambulance and into the hospital in no time.

He walked further with the various doctors and nurses that had come running towards their newest patient trying to keep his mind off the continuous reeling of numbers and focusing more at easing his partner.

His eyes were set at Danny's weak frame as one of the male nurses stopped him in the way, "No Commander, you can't go in there."

"He is my partner." Steve pressingly begged finally losing his grip on Danny's limp hand.

He felt his gut churn erratically as the doctors rushed his partner into the ER closing the door behind them. He turned around to park himself on the uncomfortable chairs to do what he dreaded the most. He sat himself uneasily, breathing into his palms as exhaustion washed over him before noticing Chin and Kono walk towards him.

"How is he?" Kono asked taking a seat beside Steve, Chin standing in front of him, fear written all over their faces.

Steve looked at Kono sighing. He could see she had been crying, her eyes were still puffed and considerably red.

"I don't…know." He managed to reply through short rasped breaths. He was panicking. Don't PANIC.

"Steve?" Chin eyed his brother trying to gain his attention noticing the sudden scarcity of his vocabulary. On getting no response, the cousins exchanged worried glances before looking back at Steve again.

"Steve?" He pressed, louder than last time.

Steve's head suddenly snapped upwards looking at Chin startled by the outburst.

"How are you holding up?" Chin asked noticing the pain and fear reflecting through his friend's eyes, his voice calm as usual.

"I am fine." Steve hurriedly replied continuing to look at his feet closing his eyes in efforts to get the disturbing image and the deafening cries for help out of his mind. I was suppose to protect Danno. I should have realized something was wrong with him. It's all my fault. Too many thoughts were screaming in Steve's head as a tear trickled down from the corner of his eye. His team mates did not miss that as the next second Kono sat on her knees in front of him, placing her hand on top of his.

"Boss…he is going to be fine." She said choking on her words.

Steve uncomfortably shifted under her touch as he felt his heart suddenly feel heavy with emotions. He unknowingly clutched his chest in efforts to stop the terrible ache in his heart. The cousins followed his hand and Kono's lips trembled as she failed to hold her tears in.

"Boss…don't do this. Don't hurt yourself like this." She said reading Steve's face. She noticed him slowly look up, his eyes reflecting too much guilt through them, "If something happens to him…its all on me Kono. It's all on me. And I can't…I can't take that. I should have realized something was wrong.." He managed to whimper.

Kono's heart ached as she felt the pain in Steve's voice pulling him into a hug and digging her face into his shoulder. He did not react for a while before it all became too much for him to bear and he hugged Kono back with all his might, letting the tears now flow down his cheeks. Kono placed her hand at the base of Steve's neck as she heard him quietly sob. Chin just stood there facing the wall, not wanting to look at his friend/boss/brother having a nervous breakdown. Danny…he could have that effect on people. NavySeal Commander Steven McGarrett was no exception. Chin was partly glad, at least Steve was letting it all out. He was rather surprised at Kono who just held on to her boss for long enough till he relaxed and wiped off his tears and ran a nervous hand on his swollen face. Kono stood up and looked at a heart-broken Chin placing a consoling hand on his shoulder before speaking to the both of them, "Why are all of you being like this? It's Danny we're talking about. Boss, you know he is a fighter, he'll make it through. He is not going to disappoint his family and Grace….no way he is clocking out on her. So just stop pretending like he is gone and think of a better way than this to ease your pain."

Though Kono had had her share of nervous breakdown, she did not want her teammates and especially Steve to do the same. It really hurt to see Steve like this and Chin….she had never thought her cousin would…Her thoughts were interrupted when Steve began to pant heavily shaking his head, "He is not going to die. I am not going to let him. God... if only I had realized sooner.."

"Boss... it's not your fault. You know Danny. He would never want you to know that he was sick. It's just his way of…" Kono's voice trailed as she failed to form a coherent sentence staring into Steve's guilt-filled eyes knowing her words were not going to help him. Danny did not deserve this. Neither did Steve. She squeezed Steve's shoulder as he breathlessly stared into her eyes trying to find the comfort which only his partner could give him. No….he has to get through this. He has to live. He just has to. Dying was not an option. Not for Daniel Williams.

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**I know it was a short chapter but I seriously enjoyed writing it. Anyways...I am going to try to update in 2,3,4,5...days. I am sorry I don't want to make empty promises. But I will try my best to update ASAP. If there are errors, feel free to inform me because I did not proof-read it. Until then, thank you to those who followed, reviewed and read. It means the world to me. TATA! Make sure to leave a tiny-tiny review!**

**-Ellie!**


	9. Chapter 9

**TITLE**: Holding On

**BY**: Ellie!

**Hey people...you want to kill me, go ahead. I am so sorry for my late update. But, truthfully, there was a proper reason this time. I am not feeling very well and yeah...that's it. Anywhoo, read and review!**

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**CHAPTER:9**

**24th MARCH 2014. SUNDAY.**

...05:30:00 p.m...

The trio had lost track of time as they desperately waited for news on their friend. Dozens of times nurses had ran past them but not once did they stop to talk. The only thing they were informed of was Danny's transfer to an ICU room.

"Here you go, Cuz." Kono tiredly handed over a cup of coffee to Chin as she sat herself beside him.

"Thanks." Chin replied before gulping in a large amount feeling its warmth calm his nerves down. There was too much tension in the surrounding and in the midst of all this, he needed the coffee.

Steve was sitting in front of them, his head resting on the wall, his arms crossed on his chest and his eyes closed. The cousins exchanged glances as they heard him slightly snore.

"I am glad he's asleep." Kono whispered not to wake the tired man. She stared at him. His face was etched in pain an hour ago but in his slumber, he looked peaceful. The sight was almost overwhelming.

"Yeah...he tired himself out." Chin said as he followed his cousin's sight.

"I am worried about him. If something happens to Danny….I don't know what he'll do." Kono murmured moving closer to Chin so Steve could not hear her, just in case he was awake. She tried to stop her mind from wandering about. The last thing she needed right now was to be pessimistic about their situation.

"Don't…." That was all Chin managed to speak as his mind blocked the memories of Steve going crazy before. Crazy would get a whole different meaning if something were to happen to Danny.

"He's hurting really bad. He's worried and..." Kono failed to complete as she hurriedly sipped her coffee.

"Danny is his best friend, Kono. He's like a brother to him. They care a lot about each other and this is going to be harder for Steve than for anyone of us."

Kono nodded her head before running a hand through her hair. This was not suppose to happen. A day ago everything was normal. After another successful case, they had gone out for lunch, had a few beers and were… happy. Kono's thoughts were interrupted when Chin quickly reached for his jean's pocket to take his phone out. She peeked a glance at the caller ID as Chin answered the call.

"Duke, what do you have?" He quickly asked. Kono slapped him on his shoulder and pointed towards the corridor. He nodded his head in realization and slowly got up from his chair moving away from Steve. They needed him to rest before he became restless again.

_"How is Danny?" Duke asked from the other side of the line._

"We don't know yet, Duke. We don't know anything." Chin replied pinching the bride of his nose.

_"What about McGarrett?" Concern was clear in Duke's voice as he spoke. _

It was funny how everybody just rightly assumed that Steve would not be fine and possibly going crazy.

"He's….he's keeping himself together.…." Chin glanced behind his shoulder peeking a glance at his peacefully napping brother.

_"I called you because a body washed on the shore few hours back, Chin. And it has been confirmed that it's your suspect. Max has already taken the body in for examination to see if the virus had anything to do with it. "_

"Antonia Perez is dead?" Chin asked, surprise and shock written all over his face. Great. Just great. Their only suspect was dead.

_"Look Chin. You need any help, just tell me. Okay?"_

Chin took a long tiring breathe before continuing, "You know what Duke, I'm on my way. I need to do whatever I can to get to the bottom of this." He glanced at Kono as he spoke who gave him a questioning look.

_"Alright….I am at the crime scene." Duke informed before ending the call_.

Chin waited for a while letting the information make its way into his head before hurriedly pocketing his phone and sprinting towards Kono, "I have to go." He whispered to her.

"What happened?" She anxiously asked. She had noticed the frown that refused to leave her cousin's face deepen. That was never a good sign.

"Antonio Perez is dead, Kono. They just found his body." Chin turned around to look at Steve before continuing, "Once he's awake, tell him."

"Why is this happening?" Kono shook her head in disbelief, her eyes pleadingly staring into Chin's. Chin cupped her face and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry about anything…I got this. You just…." Chin hurriedly pointed towards a now moving Steve, "…take care of him. Don't let him do anything stupid."

"I'll try Cuz." Chin stroked his cousin's face one last time before storming out of the hospital and getting into his car in no time. He took a long breathe before igniting his vehicle and pressing on the accelerator, discarding his thoughts for now. He was going to find the bastard who did this to his friend. He was more than just determined now. He was fanatical and that always had consequences.

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**24th MARCH 2014. SUNDAY.**

...06:00:00 p.m...

"Hi there, sleeping beauty." Kono's voice was the first thing Steve heard as he finally woke up. It took him longer than usual to remember what had happened and he felt his heart beat increase a notch as Danny's gut-clenching cries for help endlessly echoed in his ears. Steve shook his head to jerk his yelling thoughts away before anxiously asking, "Danny? How is Dn'y?" He was still half-asleep and irritated at himself for having slept in the first place.

"Hey relax…." Kono placed a strong but soothing hand on his shoulder as he began to standup on his feet. "The doctor still hasn't told us anything." She apologetically looked at her boss as his face fell. He took a long tiring breathe as he gripped the back of his neck, slightly wincing at its stiffness, "How long was I asleep?"

"Not for long."

She could see Steve looking around him, probably searching for Chin. She quickly closed her eyes not wanting to tell Steve about Antonia Perez now. Not wanting to tell him. Period. Kono's attempts to not look Steve in the eye did not go unnoticed as he frowned, "Kono, what happened?"

He felt panic grip his stomach…too tight, too fast. No….Danny…That was all he could think of, even though Kono had already assured him. Much to his annoyance, Kono blankly stared at her feet licking her lips uncomfortably.

"Kono…." Steve pressed.

"Boss….Antonio Perez is dead. His body was found a few hours ago at the shore." She replied in a monotone avoiding Steve's gaze.

Steve relaxed but only a little as the words made their way into his head. Atleast Danny was fine. His mind provided before a sudden realization struck him. His eyes widened in horror and he ran his hand across his face nervously. There was no other way to help Danny now. Their only suspect was dead.

Kono's gut clenched at the sight in front of her. Clearly Steve was panicking and he was not used to the feeling. She felt helpless, there was nothing she could do except watch her friend torture his body by mentally beating the crap out of himself. Fortunately she was put out of her never-ending misery as she felt her phone vibrate in her jean's pocket. She quickly reached for it and answered.

"Max….please tell me you have something." She basically begged.

_"I do Kono. But first things first, How is Detective Williams?"_

"We are still waiting Max."

_"What about Commander McGarette?"_

It was happening again. Everybody around them was worried about Danny but Steve…he had unintentionally become another reason for their concern.

"He's fine." She spoke as Steve's head shot upwards clearly understanding who the 'he' stood for.

_"Alright, because you are all busy and because I am interested in the field, not that its my favorite branch of science, though it's pretty intriguing…"_

Kono rolled her eyes before her lips pulled into a smile, "Max…Max. Priorities." She reminded realizing the coroner had no plans of ending his unnecessary yak anytime soon.

She heard Max clear his throat, clearly embarrassed before continuing, _"I am sorry. I got distracted. I have been doing that a lot lately….NOT something you want to know. I remember being assigned for the analysis of this virus a few years back. Antonia Perez, he was there too. I did some research and turns out he did not really do anything big in the preparation but clearly whatever he did was a role big enough for him to develop a strange liking towards its lethality. And if I am right, he might have been among the very few people who even knew about the cure."_

"So he did know how to prepare the virus also?" Kono asked slowly comprehending, biting her lower lip.

_"Certainly. And as far as I know, the preparation is highly expensive. It requires all the newest equipments with the minutest details to be given equal attention."_

"So…how the hell did a man who, I must add, did not have the least of interest in earning money get so much capital to start with?" She cocked her eyebrow receiving questioning glances from across her.

_"Exactly my thought. Maybe comparing the financial records of your dead suspect and the company might help you. Just a suggestion."_

"You're good at this Max. Thanks. You have no idea just how much I owe you right now and sorry….for having you do my work."

_"No…its quite alright. Besides, like I said, it's pretty exhilarating. I prefer doing something else besides cutting open bodies once in a while."_

Kono chuckled on Max's seriousness on the matter. "What about Antonio Perez? You find anything?"

_"Still running tests." _

"Call me when you get something Max. Bye." She ended the call and smiled to herself.

"Well?" Steve asked as he stood in front of her, his arms crossed on his chest and his eyes desperate for an answer

"Well…thanks to Max, we might have a break in the case." Kono's words seemed like heaven to Steve as he felt relief wash over him, something that had not happened to him in a while now. He stared at Kono noticing the same relief glistening in her eyes.

"And?"

"And…I am going boss. We can't expect Max to do everything for us." She spoke jokingly nudging Steve in the arm.

"Yeah…you go." Steve hesitantly spoke as he nodded to himself. He did not want to be left alone with his thoughts but he knew he was being highly unreasonable. And unlike himself.

Kono looked at him apologetically comprehending exactly what his silence meant before kissing him tenderly on the cheek. She did not want to leave him or Danny, but it was for their own good. "Take care boss…anything changes…" she began to speak before Steve cut her off mid-sentence, "I'll let you know."

She smiled one last time taking a long good look at a less vexed Steve and sprinting towards her car and out of the hospital in no time. Whoever did this, you better watch out. She thought before pressing on the accelerator and leaving, the smoke of her car dangling behind her for a few more seconds.

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**Well...how was it? Guys...review pls. Pretty pls. I need to know if there are changes or improvements I need to make. Anyways, you'll be seeing or hearing Danny in the next chapter which will be up in a few days, hopefully. Until then, take care people. AND REVIEW!**

**-Ellie!**


	10. Chapter 10

**TITLE:** Holding On

**BY**: Ellie!

**Alright people, here is the next installment, probably the last for a while because my exams are here...again. Hate it when that happens. Anyways, I will try my best to update in a week or so...but before that it's kind of hard. Not saying I won't try because I assure you, I will. Alright...enough with me being my boring-self and enjoy the chapter. Thanks to those who are still here reading my story and to those who read this note. You're awesome.**

**DISCLAIMER: I thought if I did not disclaim it for a while, Hawaii 5-0 would become mine. Turns out I was wrong. :(**

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**CHAPTER:10**

**24th MARCH 2014. SUNDAY**

...07:00:00 p.m...

Steve was too tired and he knew that at this point he desperately needed a coffee to even stand upright. He struggled with his options between wanting to leave and staying there, too worried about not being present when the doctor came about. But he hesitantly decided to take his chances knowing he wouldn't be any good to Danny if he were to end up in the same state as him. He swiftly ran to the hospital canteen, peeking nervous glances behind him, before darting back to his initial spot. He was still halfway there when a loud, heart clenching cry echoed through the corridors. It did not take him to time to recognize his partner's deafening scream as his heart jumped in its place. He ran as fast as his feet could take him trying to push his way in, failing miserably as one of the nurses stopped him yet again. He winced and jerked his hand feeling his flesh burn as the hot coffee spilled during his scurry through the corridors. Letting the pain slide for now, he paced back and forth the narrow corridor waiting for someone to tell him what the hell was happening.

He felt his world fall apart as another pained scream made its way into his ears and his heart. And then another. Another…going on for longer than he could take, each cry seeming more loud and indignant than the one before. By the time it was over, Steve did not realize that he was sitting against the wall, his hands fisted in his hair and tears flowing down his sweat-drenched face. He just wanted to turn back time. It was torturing…the helplessness.

He painfully stood up as the cries for help finally subsided, stumbling on his jittering feet as the adrenaline wore off. He ran a nervous hand through his hair staring in the direction of Danny's room hoping for someone to walk out. His back was resting on the wall supporting most of his weight when he straightened up noticing a woman possibly in her thirties walk towards him. About time.

"Commander, I am Dr. Natalie Kumoki. I'll be taking care of Detective Willams now." She said tiredly extending her hand towards Steve.

Steve shook her hand with gratitude. Natalie had a look in her eyes, the kind which could rhythm one's heart beat. Given to the situation, Steve's nervous breakdown, she was all he needed. Hope.

Before Steve could ask her anything, another scream echoed in the deadly silence going on for more than just a few nerve-wracking seconds. Steve's eyes widened in horror as Dr. Natalie closed her eyes, clearly distressed.

"How long is this going to go on for?" Steve spoke, faltering as his emotions threatened to engulf him.

The doctor looked at him apologetically staring straight into his pleading eyes. "Is Danny going to be okay?" Steve managed to whimper as a sob broke his voice.

"Danny is…fighting. Look, we are doing everything we can. Keeping him sedated, pain killers, a few more things but unfortunately that's about everything we can do. Danny is strong, that I can tell you with confidence though." She smiled as she noticed Steve's lips whisper, "That's my boy."

"Look…these few hours are going to be hard for him. And…I hate to say it but… now is the right time for him to meet….people." She was trying her best to keep this strictly professional but when she noticed Steve's face fall, her heart broke into innumerable pieces.

Too many emotions flew across Steve's face too quickly for even him to register. He looked miserable and she could do nothing but place her hand on his shoulder as he ran a hand through his hair. He had prepared himself for this but, actually, listening to the doctor's words made him panicky, yet more determined.

"Doc….what if we find the antidote?" Steve asked, his eyes desperately staring at the woman.

"He only has a few hours left Commander but… because its Detective Williams, it might actually work." She was not lying. Her patient was a pretty tough guy. She flashed a smile nodding her head giving Steve the assurance he most needed later regretting it. What if it does not work?

Steve felt his life return to him as he noticed the glimpse in Dr. Natalie's eyes igniting a spark of hope. A dim yet a very overpowering spark. That was enough for him. Besides, he had heard something good after a pretty long and tough time. He was determined to help….perhaps too determined.

"Can I see him?" Steve pleaded. He needed to see his partner, he had so many things to say to him.

Natalie eyed Steve for a while frowning. She was not sure if it was safe for Danny or even Steve. Seeing your friend in the weakened state as Danny's could never be an easy task, not even for the Commander. But she nodded her head in approval as Steve's eyes made it too difficult for her to disallow.

Steve almost jumped in joy, too many emotions flying across his face, relief and excitement being the most prominent. "Thank you so much."

"Alright, I'll get Danny ready for some visitors. You can wait for a few minutes, right?" She sarcastically asked trying to change the mood. She knew Steve was excited but a part of him was very reluctant and scared. That, she could see right through him as his smile quickly disappeared and worry etched over his face.

"Yeah..yeah, no problem." He quickly spoke, ignoring his yelling thoughts for the hundredth time.

She flashed a smile and disappeared from sight to set her patient for Steve's visit. She had a lot of work to do. Little did Steve know, Danny's condition was worse than Natalie was letting on. She took a deep breath as she entered Danny's room and intently stared at his pale face. "What am I suppose to do?" She spoke to herself as Danny let out another dulled cry of pain.

Meanwhile Steve was struggling with his inner self. He could not understand why he was so doubtful, why his heart had started beating so fast again. He paced the corridor as he took deep breaths to calm himself down. Pacing was helping him relax. He was partly glad that he had adapted this one habit of his partner. He thought of calling Chin and Kono who were, unlike him, too busy to let their mind wander off in all the possible directions, thinking of all the worst scenarios but pushed the thought at the back of his head, his concern for his partner eventually winning. Suddenly he flinched as his phone began to vibrate in his jeans. He could not believe it; a minuscule scale vibration was sending him to the edge so soon.

He glanced at the caller ID and answered the call, closing his eyes as he waited for news.

"McGarrett."

_"Hey Steve….how is Danny?" Chin spoke in his usual tone._

"The doctor just came out, she is letting me meet him." He spoke. He did not exactly lie, he just kept the bad news hidden. His attempts, on the other hand failed miserably as Chin took a long breathe on the other side. He had obviously understood but given to the situation, he best decided to let it go and Steve was more than grateful.

"_Okay, that's good."_

"Chin, what about the case?" Steve was not too interested in the case anymore. Firstly, because he trusted the cousins, he knew if there was something out there, they would find it. They always did. Secondly, he was too desperate to meet his friend. He, undoubtedly, wanted to…needed to find a cure but he just could not bring his heart to stay away from Danny.

"_Max just called me, Antonio Perez did not die because of the virus. He was killed, two gunshot wounds in the chest. Then he was thrown in the water. Charlie is still working on the bullets, Kono's busy with the financial records and Max is…thinking. Everyone's working hard Steve."_

"I know. I know Chin. Sorry, I am not there."

_"Brah, stop doing that. Obviously, Danny needs you and we're doing all this on our own will. Danny is like a brother to us too. Look, just tell him to hang in there and trust us. We'll get him out of this mess."_

"Yeah...look, Uhhh….tell me if Max finds something about the cure." Steve pinched the bridge of his nose.

_"Sure thing brah."_

Steve then ended the call feeling a little more relaxed. Chin could have that effect on people; his calm and optimistic tone always giving more hope.

He quickly shoved his phone in his pocket as he noticed Dr. Natalie walk towards him. He could not help but restlessly tap his foot on the ground as she came closer, clearly annoyed at his own behavior.

She flashed a smile and arched her eyebrow upwards, "Are you ready Commander?"

"Yeah…yeah." He quickly nodded and followed the doctor eagerly. Halfway there, she stopped him.

"First, you're going to have to wear these." She said as she handed him a hospital mask and a pair of white latex gloves. Steve's mind ran a thousand miles per second as it began wandering off again. He licked his lips to hide his troubled self and took the said items with a smile.

As he followed her further down the corridor slowly putting on the gloves, the doctor turned towards him, "Commander, don't worry. It's only for his safety." She nodded at him reassuringly.

Steve turned to look at her in the eyes and released the breath he was holding for so long nodding back a thanks to her. He was unsure to whether he should ask, whether he even wanted to know.

When they were a few feet away from Danny's room, Steve began to have second thoughts and he slowed down his pace. Dr. Natalie knew that Steve was struggling internally but she kept quiet and gave him time, as much as he needed. Once they were at the door, she turned once again towards him, clearly worried but trying hard to suppress it, "Ready?" she asked as she opened the door and Steve slowly stepped inside.

When he did, he only just prevented a gasp from escaping his mouth as he stared at his friend. Danny…..he was tearing faster than he thought he would and the beeping of the heart monitor was not making it any easier.

"Danny…." That was all he managed to whisper as he felt a hand on his shoulder and a tear trickled down from the corner of his eye.

* * *

**Alright...how was it? I am so sorry that I am going to leave it here for a while, a week, but this was the best way I could end the chapter. If there were errors, I am sorry again, I had no time to proofread it. Do not forget to review! And thanks to those who reviewed, followed, favorited (I'm pretty sure that's not the right word) and read it. It means a lot to me. Until next week, bye!**

**-Ellie!**


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